Mosey May, Chemo, and Me

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Guess
who's beating cancer? A year ago, Mosey May Gralow was diagnosed with
aggressive T-Cell Lymphoma. She was given six weeks without treatment
and "a year on average" with treatment. This is Mosey on our afternoon walk today. Still got that puppy energy. Go Mosey!

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Mosey got her most recent chemo maintenance injections on Thursday, and she's still in full remission! We're aiming for injections just every eight weeks now. All of the vets and vet techs commented on how happy and social she was. She had no fear of the injections. She's been in full remission for almost four months now! We're currently celebrating in Sun Valley. Mosey and I love going on road trips and exploring new places together. Just like old times.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Mosey had another round of chemo injections last week. She was a champ as
usual, and she's still in remission! She's been in remission for about
two months now, which is a relief, since her first remission - when she
was on the Madison, WI, protocol - only lasted a few weeks.

Now she's on
the MOPP chemo protocol, which was the hardest and perhaps best decision I've
ever made. She'll be getting injections just once every 6 weeks now -
maintenance chemo. She sprints up and down the trail on our hikes, and I
can hardly keep up with her. Amazing, especially for a dog with aggressive T-Cell
Lymphoma.

Here's hoping this remission will last! Seems we've finally
found the right drugs.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

I didn't need a trendy Facebook app to tell me how special Mosey is, but here it is. My time, energy, and love have been unquestionably well-spent. Mosey entered 2012 in remission. Happy New Year to all!

Thursday, December 22, 2011

So much for keeping Mosey on the perfect anti-cancer diet. I came home to this the other day:

Mosey had eaten almost a whole pack of Trident Layers chewing gum. She broke into my roommate's room and stole the full pack.

I looked up the ingredients, and luckily, Trident Layers is the only brand of Trident that does not contain Xylitol, an artificial sweetener that can be toxic to dogs. I was still worried sick, and I called two vets who assured me she'd probably be fine.

So while I'm sure this gum thieving incident was not exactly healthy for Mosey, it seems she'll be okay. She had diarrhea last night, but her energy and appetite seem normal today. Thank god for the doggy doors. Mosey went out into the snowy backyard in the middle of the night and tidily did her business in a far corner of the yard. This was an act of desperation, since Mosey almost never goes on our property.

I'm hoping the gum and wrappers are out of her system now. I'm also hoping the claim that gum stays in one's system for seven years if swallowed (which I seem to remember from elementary school, along with talk of Pop Rocks fatalities), is an urban legend.

It's the prednisone (a steroidol part of her treatment) that's causing Mosey to want to consume everything. She even went after the Crest White Strips I bought in hopes of a brighter smile for the holidays. Here's Mosey's posture of shame upon realizing I'd discovered her loot:

Awwww. It's okay Mosey! Just no more junk food when I feed you Alaskan salmon, organic beef, and boneless, skinless chicken breasts daily. Plus, you have special treats coming for Christmas!

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Mosey got her chemo injections without a hitch today, and her vet said she is in remission. I am hopeful, but hesitant to get too excited about this remission news. The last time Mosey "went into remission," it was only about 10 days before her lymph tumors were back in full force. That's when we realized we needed to change protocols.

When Mosey had an initial bad reaction to this new MOPP protocol, I nearly gave up hope of her going into a true, lengthy remission. My goal became to just stabilize her cancer. Now that there's hope of true remission again, I'll have to start planning more hikes and cross-country treks! (But again, after our experience last time, I can't get too excited just yet.)

Here's Mosey smiling (sort of) while getting her injections today. She's so calm. What a trooper!

It's chemo time again. This afternoon, Mosey and I will drive over Teton Pass to Spring Creek Animal Hospital in Jackson for her monthly chemotherapy injections. She'll get three injections: mustargen, a chemo drug that can be very dangerous to administer; vinblastine, a milder chemo drug; and celenia, an anti-nausea drug.

Then Mosey will take another chemo drug, procarbazine, in oral form, for two weeks. (This drug comes in the alarming biohazard bag above.) She will also take prednisone for two weeks and the oral form of the anti-nausea drug for eight days.

So if you're counting, that's three chemo drugs, one steroidal drug, and one anti-nausea drug. Yikes!

This chemo protocol is known as MOPP, and it is Mosey's second chemo protocol. She started with the Madison, Wiscosnin protocol, which basically didn't do much to kill her cancer cells. The MOPP protocol is more aggressive. Deciding whether or not to put Mosey through it was the hardest decision I've ever had to make. I went through major anxiety over the decision, and I almost backed out at the last minute.

When Mosey first started the MOPP protocol, her white blood cells completely crashed and she had to be hospitalized overnight . It was the worst I've seen her. Twenty-four hours later, her blood test was normal, and she was wagging her tail, eating, and happily going on walks again. She's my Super Dog!

We're now about four months into the MOPP protocol, and (as shown in my previous post) she's been happily sprinting around like a sled dog again! So hopefully, I've made the right decision, and these are the right drugs for her type of aggressive, T-Cell Lymphoma.

Mosey's MOPP protocol was slightly adjusted for her unique needs. Typically, the protocol includes vincristine rather than vinblastine. Mosey did not respond well to vincristine during her first protocol, so we switched to a different drug in the same class. The protocol is also typically given every three weeks, but after Mosey's hospitalization scare, I decided on once a month.

We'll be off to our appointment soon! I'll post an update when we're home. First, I'm taking Mosey on a nice, long walk.